Job 25:1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
2 Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places.
3 Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?
4 How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?
5 Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.
6 How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm? False humility is actually a form of pride. Job’s three friends were full of pride and were seeking to usurp the place of God in the life of Job. They did not know God, but they sought to convince Job that they were the “experts” on God.
Bildad took the reins in this chapter and tried his hand at attacking Job once more. He tried to show that God is the Almighty and no man is equal to God and no man can be justified in His sight.
Again we see that for the unlearned and unsaved, the words of Bildad might sound good. It is true that God is the Almighty. Job was not disputing that. The difference is that Job had some foundational truths about what it means that God is Almighty. Bildad and his friends had no understanding of what that means. They were shooting from the lip without knowledge.
In verse 3 we agree as would Job, that God has an innumerable army.
Hebrews 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
God knows how many angels there are, but the number is greater than man can know. This is in spite of the fact that one third of the angels fell with the devil. These angels are not there to protect God. He is Almighty all by Himself. These angels are there to glorify Him and to do His bidding. They are pleased to serve Him. Unlike man, they are without sin. Unlike man, those that fell cannot be redeemed.
Bildad was also true that all people are given light from God.
John 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
John the Baptist was not the Light. As the apostle John wrote, John the Baptist came to bear witness of that Light. Jesus Christ is that Light and He has given light to every man that is born. No one will stand before Jesus Christ with the false claim that they did not know they were sinners in need of a Saviour. There is so much evidence that points to the fact that lost people know there is something fundamentally lacking in their lives. They try to fill that void with booze and drugs and rock music, etc. but it never finishes the job. There are many distortions of Jesus Christ in our world. We are coming up to the pagan festival of Easter. This festival makes a mockery of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. He did not die on a Friday and rise again on Sunday morning. That does not add up to three days and three nights. Easter bunnies and chicks and eggs have nothing to do with Jesus Christ. It may be fun for parents to go and hide eggs and have the children or grandchildren hunt for them. That could be done any day of the year. It does not help those involved to be reminded of the important purpose of Jesus’ sacrificial death, shed blood, burial and resurrection.
Born again Christians need to renounce the hidden things of darkness. We do not need to “sanctify” the paganism of Catholicism. It is a blessing to be able to show the world the greatness of the true God. Bildad spoke some truths in the opening verses of this chapter but he took away from that truth by his corrupt application of those truths.
In verse 4 Bildad asked an important question. There are many people who are trying to justify themselves before God. The Catholics have corrupted the deity of Jesus Christ by teaching that Mary was a sinless virgin and still is. Mary did not need to be without sin in order for Jesus Christ to be without sin. Mary was given conception by the Holy Ghost and the seed that was in her was the eternal Son of God. She was simply the vehicle that God used to give flesh to His Son. He could have done that without using a woman, but He chose that method.
No one born through the normal process of procreation is justified before God. No woman is sinless and thus the normal seed of the woman is conceived and born as a sinner. David declared:
Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Paul pointed out:
Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Justification is found only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Bildad’s argument regarding the moon and the stars had no relevance to man in this context. The moon and the stars did not sin. The moon and the stars are groaning along with all of creation because of the sin of man that has affected all of creation.
In verse 6, man is certainly a worm. Man does not deserve any consideration from God. We cannot demand anything from God. However, God created man in a special way. He formed man from the dust of the ground and then breathed into man the breath of life. God made man a living soul. Adam’s sin caused man to die spiritually immediately upon his sin. Jesus Christ came to redeem man. He is the Life-giver. He is the hope of man.
Pastor Bartel
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